: -Cortana demonsrates some pretty remarkable talents that suggest an evolution
: far beyond that of her previous 'ship AI' post. Remember, just becuase you
: read about something doesn't mean you should be a ble to do it. This
: applies to Cortana in the forerunner database.

: 1. She makes the index dissapear - a material object. She does not teleport
: it - there is no characteristic yellow glow and it is clearly impossible
: for 343GS to go and get it. This is a stupendous, dimension manipulating
: talent.

: 2. She shuts down 343GS, a guard AI made by a massively advanced
: civilisation. This is like a Victorian chamber-maid reading a contemproary
: book on the internet and then successfuly hacking into FBI servers.

: 3. She is able to teleport - this is, as far as I know, a skill human
: civilisation is completely unable to emulate. If not why do we run over to
: see Keyes in the games opening and not just teleport straight there? I
: understand that she learns of a telportation network from the library
: info, but this is a skill she shouldn't be able to physically 'do' - what
: human created programs could possibly interact with an alien mechanism
: that manipulates something not even invented yet? The victorian
: chamber-maid analogy springs to mind.

Cortana was always more than a ship's AI, that was just something to keep her busy, like filing paperwork is for me. My mind is working on at least five or six other things while the tedious task of filing is performed almost by reflex.

We must remember that time would not appear the same to an AI as it does to us. A 12 hour time period to a human would most definitely not be enough time to master the internet if one were starting from scratch. And we know that Cortana is starting off with more skills/knowledge than your average chamber maid.

For an AI, however, 12 hours is like an eternity. The question of Cortana's ability (or lack thereof) to interact with alien technology is answered by the fact that she is able to 'get into' the control room computer system in the first place. Once in there, she has no other goal than to absorb as much information as possible. For an AI, who has been designed for data extraction, 12 hours should be more than enough time to discover every available piece of information, learn it, and be able to use it in a practical way. I don't think the chamber maid analogy is accurate.

My point is, with 12 hours, a focused AI should be able to learn and perform quite a bit...even tricks to which it has never been exposed.

Not to say that Cortana didn't come out of the core a little...off, though...